The Web of Fear
The Forgotten Son
A Lethbridge-Stewart Adventure
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The Web of Fear |
Candy Jar The Forgotten Son A Lethbridge-Stewart Adventure |
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| Author | Andy Frankham-Allen |  |
| ISBN# | 0 993 11915 6 | |
| Published | 2015 | |
| Cover | Simon Williams |
| Synopsis: The Great Intelligence has been defeated. And Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart's world has changed.For Colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart his life in the Scots Guards was straightforward enough; rising in the ranks through nineteen years of military service. But then his regiment was assigned to help combat the Yeti incursion in London, the robotic soldiers of an alien entity known as the Great Intelligence. For Lethbridge-Stewart, life would never be the same again. Now he has a mammoth task ahead of him: the repopulating of London; millions of civilians need to be returned home after being evacuated so suddenly. On top of that, he also has his engagement to think about. |
A new series for an old favourite by Thomas Wade 8/4/18
One of the most famous companions from Doctor Who was Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. Whilst he's appeared alongside many Doctors in various forms of media, as well as in spin-offs, before Nicholas Courtney's death, the only ongoing spin-off he had was a short-lived UNIT series from Big Finish. However, in 2015, Candy Jar Books obtained the licences to use characters created by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln. This meant that they could use the Brigadier in their works, along with the Great Intelligence, the robot Yetis and the Dominators.
The first book in the series is The Forgotten Son, and it initially sets out to be a sequel to The Web of Fear. Lethbridge-Stewart is helping with the repopulation of London, but the Great Intelligence is stirring up trouble in a town called Bledoe. Lethbridge-Stewart finds his way to Bledoe and discovers that the people there recognise him. Unbeknownst to him, he had lived in Bledoe as a child, but something caused him to have some kind of psychological block on what happened. He later discovers that he had a brother that he'd also forgotten, James and that his brother had an imaginary friend that took control of his mind, causing his death. This imaginary friend was the Great Intelligence, but it's actually the Great Intelligence after The Name of the Doctor. Because the Intelligence was constantly being defeated inside The Doctor's timeline by Clara, it chose to try and kill The Doctor's greatest ally instead. It ended up in 1937, but upon discovering Alistair, it got intrigued by his brother.
The plot of this book doesn't feel completely original, but I feel that starting this series with the Great Intelligence as the enemy was a wise move. It means that there's a closer link to The Web of Fear for Alistair, as well as it meaning that the Intelligence has the tools easily available in the world to try and take over. Andy Frankham-Allen has done a great job in trying to fit this into the Doctor Who mythos, trying to ensure that the episodes featuring the Intelligence in 2012 and 2013 are able to fit in with this book and the original stories featuring the Intelligence.
As a pilot to a new series, it left me interested to see what would happen next, but it doesn't just end in a way that feels too obvious that the author intends for you to to buy the rest of the books. At the time of writing this review, I have read to the end of the first set of books in the Lethbridge-Stewart series, and the plots do improve upon the weaknesses in this one. As a stand-alone title, it doesn't fit well with who I know the character of the Brigadier to be (although it improves as of the next book).
If you are a fan of the Brigadier's character, I'd recommend giving this book a read. However, if you have only seen the revived show, whilst you may find enjoyment in this book, it has a lot of stuff that relies on knowledge of Classic Who (albeit only The Web of Fear for this book).
A Review by Steve White 18/4/18
Candy Jar Books have obtained rights to publish stories featuring characters from the classic series of Doctor Who, the most important of whom is Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and it's his name which gives the range it's title. The range is set just after The Web of Fear and features Lethbridge-Stewart, as a Colonel, setting up a taskforce to deal with alien threats to Earth. I was really looking forward to this range of novels, as the UNIT stories are some of my absolute favourites. The first novel of the range is The Forgotten Son, by range editor Andy Frankham-Allen.
The main plot of The Forgotten Son is sadly rather boring, confusing and not at all the UNIT-style romp I'd been expecting. Lethbridge-Stewart is dealing with the aftermath of the Yeti invasion of London, whilst strange events start to occur with links to Bledoe in Cornwall. Lethbridge-Stewart's mother, Mary Core, gets summoned there by memories of her dead husband at the same time as some local children, Owain and Lewis mess around in an old house there. Owain gets possessed by a spirit but is not able to fully comprehend it at first. To top things off, one of the dead army men from Web of Fear comes back to life and sets off to Bledoe as well. Ghost stories rarely sit well with me, as I struggle to believe in them, preferring my odd occurrences to be firmly based in science fiction as opposed to the paranormal. As it turns out, the source of the possession is none other than Lethbridge-Stewart's dead brother, whom he has forgotten about totally. This is all well and good for character progression, but for a believable story and introduction to a new range, it's wide of the mark by a long stretch. It soon becomes clear that the Great Intelligence wasn't defeated after all and Lethbridge-Stewart must deal with the past as well as the present.
I felt like I was reading two novels that had been merged into one. On one hand, you have the return of the Great Intelligence; on the other, the ghostly appearance of Lethbridge-Stewart's brother. They do tie together, but it's a convoluted connection to say the least.
Where I can trash the story all day, the characterization is done almost faultlessly, and Frankham-Allen deserves praise for this. Lethbridge-Stewart is as you'd expect him to be after The Web of Fear, and his background is fleshed out nicely. I disagree with the introduction of his mother so soon in the range and also the fact that he forgot he had a brother, but both characters are written well. Also good are the residents of Bledoe, including Owain, his brother Lewis and Lethbridge Stewart's old school friend Ray.
Of course, the main talking point about The Forgotten Son is the fact that Lethbridge-Stewart had a brother, called James, who died when he was young in a tragic accident. If this was the entire story, then I would have no issue with it, but for some reason Lethbridge-Stewart forgot about him whilst almost everyone else remembered him. Lethbridge-Stewart then managed to go through life without anyone bringing him up, which even for the 1960s seems pretty unbelievable. As a character, James isn't that interesting; it's the feelings he brings out in Lethbridge-Stewart that are. Also, having James be possessed by the Great Intelligence in the past is another case of the envelope being pushed too far.
One of the downfalls of novels featuring UNIT is that the soldiers all merge into one, as generally all military roles are very similar. Benton and Yates may as well be the same character on paper, and I was interested to see how this range would get around this issue. The short answer is, it doesn't. I'm writing this review mid-way through series two, 7 books in, and I still can't easily tell Douglas and Hamilton apart. Basically, they are Lethbridge-Stewart's peers, who feel the same as he does about the need for a division to protect against alien threats. The reason this confusion exists is that neither character is given an introduction other than, this is Douglas or this is Hamilton. It needed a story where Douglas is one of the main characters in order for the reader to get behind him and then be able to differentiate him from other military types. Luckily, the same cannot be said for William Bishop, who eventually becomes Lethbridge-Stewart's right-hand man, a bit like a Yates or Benton figure. There are also cameos from Corporal Bell, Driver Evans and other military staff from the TV series, which is a nice touch. I guess I should also mention Corporal Sally Wright, whom Lethbridge-Stewart is dating. Whilst it's nice to show this side of him, I find the whole relationship side detracting from the main plot across the entire range.
The final character of note is Anne Travers, now working as a scientific advisor to the military. Whilst it's nice to see her, especially given the role she has in the future of this range, she is handled very poorly here, with her role simply being to turn up with new technology that just doesn't work. Her characterisation is great; she just feels shoe-horned in for no real reason, as she has no bearing on the resolution of the plot.
A previously mentioned, the enemy is the Great Intelligence, and it is far more threatening on paper than on TV. The robot yeti are visualized better, and the impenetrable web is far better in your head than watching an actor pretend not to be able to get through it. There are also nice little nods to both Classic and New Doctor Who. What does let the Great Intelligence down, however, is the "ghost" of James, which seems to serve no purpose other to tie into Lethbridge-Stewart.
Personally, I felt The Forgotten Son was a very weak start to the series. Maybe it's because I was expecting a UNIT-style romp, but it certainly didn't set my world on fire or even get me excited for future books in the range. The plot was convoluted, with far too many non-believable ideas being thrown at it. That said, there are glimmers of hope, and there is still time for the range to grow on me.
4/10